New Poll Confirms GOP Out of Touch with the Priorities

In their headlong charge to protect tax cuts for the wealthy at all costs, Senate Republicans voted today to block consideration of a measure to keep student loan rates from doubling on July 1. This comes on the heels of House Republicans rejecting any attempts at a bipartisan compromise on the student loan issue. And guess what? The American people don’t like that too much.

“A plurality [50 percent to 34 percent] prefers Democrats’ plans to pay for student-loan subsidies by raising taxes on some businesses, as opposed to Republicans’ plans to shift money from a preventative-health fund created as part of the 2010 health care law.

But wait, there’s more. Continuing their obstructionist ways, House Republicans are also moving forward with their own version of the Violence Against Women Act, even though a bipartisan Senate compromise on the issue passed with 68 votes—including every single female Republican Senator. The House bill rolls back current law, which provides important protections for battered immigrants and does not do enough to protect LGBT victims or victims who live on tribal lands.

According to the poll, the GOP stance on VAWA isn’t proving to be too popular either:

“Sixty-two percent of respondents support ‘including gays and lesbians in the group that is protected under this law,’ compared with only 30 percent who are opposed to that addition. Among women, 67 percent support expanding the law to cover gays and lesbians, as do 77 percent of respondents ages 18-29 and 69 percent of those 18-49.”

“Fifty-eight percent also support ‘expanding the authority of Native American officials to handle abuse cases of Indian women by non-Indians.’ Once again, support runs higher among women and young adults.”

Not to give our Republican friends advice, but maybe it’s time to rethink the whole out-of-touch and obstructionist brand they’ve got going on.